Family barred from Southwest flight to Disneyland after lice allegation

CHICAGO (WCMH) — A family was barred from a Southwest Airlines flight headed to Disneyland because of a lice allegation Friday.

The Newman family was waiting to board a flight to Santa Ana when J Newman’s wife noticed something in their daughter’s hair, NBC 5 reports.

“There was some dry skin in my daughter’s hair,” he said. “So, she was just kind of taking it out of my daughter’s hair.”

About a half-hour later the family was approached by a gate agent.

Southwest told NBC 5 in a statement that their employees were approached by several customers “…with concerns about a fellow passenger in the gate area exhibiting behavior consistent with a highly contagious medical condition. We never want to inconvenience customers but when we receive concerns from multiple people, we’re obligated to look into them.”

The Newman family was removed from their flight even though it was never confirmed that the girl had lice.

“My daughter is hysterical because she thinks this is her fault that she’s not going to Disneyland,” Newman said.

The family was told the next flight they could get on would be two days from now. They told NBC 5 they never received an apology or any compensation for their loss. Southwest Airlines said they are working directly with the family and are sorry for any inconvenience.

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